The Rays were hoping to get a runner on base in the eighth inning against Indians ace Corey Kluber, and they did when Kevin Kiermaier walked with one out.
Then they were hoping to get Kiermaier into scoring position, which happened when Kiermaier stole second base with two outs.
And then …
“A bloop or a broken-bat single, whatever,” manager Kevin Cash said.
They settled for whatever, which in this case was a two-run homer deep into the seats in left-center field by Logan Forsythe that broke a 1-1 tie. Two batters later, Evan Longoria hit a two-run home run to cap the Rays’ 5-1 win Tuesday night in front of an announced crowd of 10,283 at Tropicana Field.